Sometimes You Just Gotta Suck it Up and Go

Up until a week or so ago, we were having a magnificent fall with warmer than normal temperatures and a deficit of precipitation. The sun has been shining almost daily. But the universe demands balance, right? So in exchange for all that environmental loveliness, we now have below normal bone-chilling temperatures, wind, and yes, precipitation. With no time to acclimate, it's been quite a shock and to get myself moving, I have had to rely on those cold weather motivational tips I posted on Friday.

I could write a whole whiny post about running in the cold and how much I hate it. Seriously, though, what good would that do? Yep, sometimes you just gotta suck it up and go. 

Even though it was cold this week, the sun did shine on a couple of my runs. It's amazing what a difference the sun makes when it's cold out. Both Wednesday and Thursday's runs felt good, even though it was cold and breezy. Saturday's run was just brutal, which cloudy, windy, and cold conditions. For you glass-half-full people, it wasn't raining or snowing. I set out to do 4 miles, with the intent to either run without intervals or 9:1 intervals, which is what I ended up doing. Sunday was rainy and cold. I had a long run planned but after consulting my weather apps, I decided one bone-chilling run per weekend was my limit. Monday's forecast was for sunny skies, so I rescheduled my long run for then.

Thursday after speedwork at the pond

At CrossFit, we did conditioning with Coach Kate on Tuesday. There were 4 round of 3 sets of activities. The battle ropes made a reappearance, as well as those slam balls. After that, we did 3 rounds of rowing and burpees. As hard as these workouts are, I just love them.

On Thursday, Coach Sammy Jo had us work on strength. We did back squats and worked on power cleans. She also had us sidestepping using the resistance band. There was 70s music playing and we sang along and danced while we sidestepped. That was fun and took our minds off the pain!

I'm continuing to do yoga at home, enjoying the yoga recovery videos I'm finding on YouTube. On Monday, I did 2 videos from Five Parks Yoga: Yoga for Runners and Deep Stretch for Runners. They were exactly the time frame and combination of stretch and strength I was looking for. On Wednesday, after I ran, I did a 30 minute Post Workout Cooldown video from Sarah Beth Yoga.

Off the road, my husband and I had a day in the city planned for Friday. We made plans to go to the Art Institute, have lunch in Chinatown, and then check out Lagunitas Brewery and Tap Room. As we approached the city limits, the traffic slowed to a crawl. The weather may have been clear by our house, which is about 25 miles from downtown, but the lake effect snow machine was cranking out snow in Chicago! There were so many accidents. We finally got off the expressway, but we spent so much time stuck in traffic that we decided to skip the Art Institute and go to lunch in Chinatown. By the time we got there, it was noon and we devoured our spicy hot food.

Sitting on the Kennedy Expressway. White stuff. This was the point when my husband started threatening to get off the highway and just go home. Suck it up, man! 

The highlight of the day for both of us was the visit to Lagunitas. What a cool place! When you walk in, the first thing you hear is the music from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. You walk down a long blue, dimly lit, psychedelic hallway to a staircase that takes you up to the tap room, which is in the middle of the brewery. There are tours--not sure why we didn't go on one--but we grabbed a table in the very busy bar area and decided to try beer flights. I tried Daytime, Aunt Sally, Eroica (a seasonal brew), and Sucks (which didn't suck at all). Mike tried the seasonal Wet-Hopped and Dry-Hopped, Maximus, and Brown Shugga. It was fun trying all the different beers and it was a really cool atmosphere. The hard part was leaving! I don't drink beer often, but when I do...

The walk to the tap room. It's not as weird as it seems. Ok, maybe it is.

We topped off our day by watching American Made, which is an awesome movie starring Tom Cruise as a TWA pilot in the late 70s-early 80s who is recruited by the CIA to do reconnaissance in Central America. He ends up getting mixed up in some interesting stuff and wow! I didn't think I'd find a movie I liked as much as Baby Driver, but here you go! It was another adrenaline-filled 2 hours and I had a little trouble winding down for sleep. Tom Cruise was just amazing in this role. Does he ever age? What to watch next?

How was your week? Is it cold by you? Snow? Do you just suck it up and go, even if it's cold? Beer--yes or no? If yes, what style? Have you seen American Made? 

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. I'm looking forward to reading everyone's RnR LV and Richmond Marathon Recaps! Have a fabulous week!